My daughter turns five next week. With her being born just a few weeks after the shop turned one, it's hard for me not to connect the milestones and have some sort of interwoven parental feelings about both.

I think of the infinite joy, the challenges and changes, and the bumps along the way. Some literal, like when she and her little sister, Simone, decided to play chicken and smashed into each other at full speed on their scooters. Or when a one year old Ellery completely face-planted and came up with her nose absurdly flattened. It’ll pop back out, some mom on the Internet said. She’ll be fine, reassured my sister-in-law, a nurse who has seen it all. They’re all cartilage, she says.

It takes a village, as she and many others say, and it’s true. True for little ones and also for big ones. For people and places and spaces too. It wasn’t my week to write last Thursday, so I missed the chance to say thank you for being that village - and for helping us grow such a beautiful thing at 420 40th St.. Thanks for supporting the growth of our shop. For letting it breathe and expand, watching it flourish, or endure and heal through those trying years. Some of you were here in its infancy, and have seen it bend and change. Some remember the old piano, and Justan Brown banging out blues and boogie-woogie. Others can recall the many food pop-ups, from Korean bites to handmade dumplings to spontaneous paella nights. Winemakers, oysters, folk singers, book launches, poetry readings. The expansion of the wine bar, the many markets and events in the back lot. All pliable. All cartilage. 

And while there was some toddling in those early years, I’d like to think this space has a solid frame now, is steady and balanced, with some unyielding strengths. An integrity aligned with the quality of our wines. A staff dedicated to exceptional service. A commitment to our community. Some good bones beyond the beams.

I can't imagine OAKLAND YARD ever growing old. We can't thank you enough, all you friends and neighbors, all you aunties and uncles, for your custody and contributions to this growth. Thanks for taking such good care of our baby.

Cheers,

Daniel